Amentia

Chapter 27 - Ignis, reborn

In a time long before this one, before Amentia was called Amentia, there was a land with no name and no Gods. It was an unruly place and only stories remain of it now, some true and some myth. The story pertaining us today is both.

In his previous life, before he was our beloved God, Ignis was a wicked and amoral creature with no regard for the wellbeing of others. Even as an infant, he enjoyed the smell of burning flesh and the sound of splintering wood. His eyes turned wild and dark upon seeing things aflame; it hypnotized him, captivated him.

Soon enough, still a child, he realized he had the power to control fire as if it was part of his own flesh. He was proud of his ability and made a show of it to the entire town, but only the other children enjoyed the display, seeing it as pretty bright lights dancing all around them. The elders saw it for what it actually was: a bad omen, a disaster waiting to happen. And how right they were.

Despite everyone's best efforts to raise him to be a responsible creature, Ignis refused to be told what to do by creatures who were weaker than him, who burned and cried when fire touched them. By the time he was a teenager, the entire town feared him, looked away when he caught them whispering about him, flinched every time he raised his arm. And he knew, he felt it. He reveled in it. He himself was like a fire, destructive, untamable and ever so hungry for more.

He started with the frail creatures that had given him life; they were a liability, a weakness, and it shamed him to know he was related to them. Then he disposed of the elderly, the ones that everyone went to for guidance. And soon, the entire town was his. He became a tyrant and a petty ruler, threatening with fire anyone who dared to even hesitate before doing something he ordered; he burned down houses and farms and killed cattle or children just to prove a point. Lives had no meaning or weight for him. It pleased him, seeing everyone bowing and looking down, recognizing he was the superior creature all around. It was just so easy. Perhaps too easy.

He wanted even more. More servants, more fear, more praise, more of everything. So he walked, took his strongest folk with him, and scorched his way across the land, claiming it. Some towns he just burned down for his own amusement, just because he could, and to prove that no one could stand against him and survive, crushing the spirit of every town he set foot in.

He made everyone call him the Fire God and he walked and conquered every land he could reach. And for many long decades, there was no stopping him. He seemed to be indestructible and untiring, always young and always strong.

But one can only rule by fear alone for so many years, and so a time came when the creatures had simply had enough and began gathering to rise up to this tyrant and defend their land in any way they could. They turned their fear into hatred and resentment. Fear makes you small, it confines you, draws you back. But hate fuels you, drives you, and folk knew that their hate for Ignis was stronger than the fear he could ever instill in them. They no longer bowed down or retreated. Thousands died facing the rage of the Fire God, long years passed, but no one ever lost the courage to keep fighting.

Eventually, Ignis saw his kingdom of fear crumble all around him. No matter how many he killed, more came in their place; they were resilient. Courage spread like a wild fire that he could not control or mold to his liking. And it would only be a matter of time before they managed to breach his castle and end his long life.

For the first time in his life, he was powerless, but he refused to be seen as such. So one night, in a fit of rage and impotence, he left his throne and fled to a deep forest. There was nothing he could do to regain power; he had nowhere to go and no one to turn to. So he stayed there, in a forest no living soul passed through except wild animals.

He waited there. Days, seasons, years. No one went after him to kill him despite the deep hate they had for him, no one chased him... as if he hadn't been the most fearsome creature for a long fifty years, as if he hadn't changed the world. Not only had he lost his power over everyone; he had also lost their consideration. He had ceased to exist; the world had chosen to forget he had ever been there. This was a much worse punishment than death.

His anger and wounded pride were what carried him forward for the first few years of life alone in the forest. Fire was his only comfort, so wherever he traveled he made sure to burn as many trees and flowers as he could, leaving a trail of dead forests behind him, the closest thing he could get to claiming ownership over a piece of land.

During the first decade, everyone knew it was him burning the forests, a reminder of what they had fought against and what they had lost. During the second decade, children were told that the forest was haunted by an evil creature and they should never go near it or else it would burn them alive.

During the fifth decade, the fires stopped. Anyone who could still remember him had died long ago and soon enough the stories of his conquests and violence became myths as time passed and creatures forgot, happy in their peace. The fearsome Fire God became but a warning to children to beware the wrong use of fire; he became a bedtime story that had turned him into little more than a mischievous spirit, all his powerful glory long gone from the memory of the world.

But he was still out there, alone in those woods, wishing death would just take him and be done with it. He didn't remember how old he was supposed to be by now; his skin had stopped aging long ago, and he felt like he had lived for hundreds of years. He was getting tired. Seeing things burn no longer pleased him; fire only reminded him of how the world had casted him out, of how alone he was.

Time and loneliness have a way of changing a creature's heart, and Ignis was not immune to them. After long years in the forest, he realized that he had never had a friend in his entire life. He didn't remember what an embrace felt like, unable to even bring back memories of his mother nursing him as a child. He had never kissed any lips. He had never loved anything other than himself and his power. He had never lived. And for a creature who could not die, this was a most disheartening realization.

He longed for company now, somebody to talk to, someone to look him in the eyes. An eternity was too long a time to live utterly and completely alone. But he had caused so much damage to the world... how could he ever atone for all the lives he had taken? Who would ever forgive him? Why should they?

Eventually, she found him, all withered and hopeless and wild around the edges after so many years of isolation. She called herself Aurora, Life Bringer. She had heard stories of Ignis' powers and came to him with a unique offer.

"With your help, we can change the world," she told him.

"My fire has never helped anyone," Ignis replied, his body heavy with shame and guilt, his voice weak and cracked from years of not speaking to a single soul. "It has never brought life, only taken it away."

"It will now, if you let it."

Ignis was hesitant, but in her voice, there seemed to be only truth. And it was endearing and peaceful. He chose to believe Aurora's promise and followed her. And so, for the first time in his eternally long life, his fire helped create life instead of destroying it, and Ignis learned how wrongfully he had lived all this time. He had only ever chosen to see the destructive side of his power. It's true that fire causes damage, but it is also true that it melds things together with an unbreakable bond.

Now, he found himself surrounded by four other powerful creatures who had been invited to take part in this endeavor as well; creatures like himself, who were eager to use their enormous power to do something good. And so, together, they dedicated their lives to heal and reshape that unruly and godless land into the beautiful world we have today, leaving everything behind so that we could live in peace.